A Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Antibiotic Stewardship at a Federally Qualified Health Center

• Published in: Journal for nurse practitioners Vol. 17; no. 8; pp. 1033 - 1038
• Main Authors: Fleming, Natalie, Wilson, Jessica, Crawford, Sybil, Feeney, Susan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Elsevier Inc 01.09.2021; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: acute pharyngitis; acute sinusitis; antibiotic resistance; antibiotic stewardship; antibiotic stewardship program; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; antimicrobial stewardship; Audits; Clinical medicine; Clinical practice guidelines; Communication; Drug resistance; Electronic health records; Feedback; Health facilities; Infectious diseases; Intervention; Management; Nurse practitioners; Nursing education; outpatient antibiotics; Pathogens; Pharyngitis; Prescribing; Primary care; Public health; Quality control; Quality improvement; Quality management; Sinusitis; Skill development; United States > US; antimicrobial stewardship; antibiotic resistance; acute sinusitis; antibiotic stewardship program; antibiotic stewardship; outpatient antibiotics; acute pharyngitis
• ISSN: 1555-4155; 1878-058X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nurpra.2021.04.002

The development of antibiotic resistance is a growing public health concern. Antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) employ strategies to improve antibiotic prescribing practices. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to pilot an ASP with a focus on the management of sinusitis and pharyngitis. Antibiotic prescribing practices were evaluated before and after the implementation of the pilot ASP. The primary aim of this project was to improve the concordance of antibiotic prescribing practices with clinical practice guidelines. Although not statistically significant, it was noted that there was an improvement in adherence to clinical practice guidelines after the pilot ASP was implemented. •Inappropriate prescription of antibiotics is associated with the development of antibiotic resistance, adverse patient outcomes, and increased health care costs.•The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all outpatient health care settings focus on improving antibiotic stewardship.•Antibiotic stewardship includes efforts to measure antibiotic prescribing and increase antibiotic prescription concordance with current clinical practice guidelines.•The implementation of antibiotic stewardship initiatives were associated with improved prescribing practices for acute sinusitis and pharyngitis in adult patients.